Sunday, October 31, 2010

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Hey everyone! I hope your weekend has been going well. Here are some photos of my little one this Halloween. We went to a party on Friday and since she's too little to trick or treat we just celebrated it early this year.

I know most southeast states went last night but if you're trick or treating tonight be safe! Have a safety plan =)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Hello everyone! I joined a 6 in 1 hop where you can link up your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Networked Blogs, Blog Frog, and giveaways!! If you're interested in joining too, link up here. If you're a visitor, leave me a comment so I know to follow you back! Have a safe weekend.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

My family has been using Vaseline Petroleum Jelly since before I was born. Now that I have a family of my own, I also keep this trusted product in our home. Like vinegar, Vaseline is a great product with a multitude of uses. Here are a few fun and frugal ways that my family likes to use this wonderful product.

For dandruff relief. A little dab applied to the flaky areas of the scalp works wonders.

A styling product. In a bind, Vaseline can be applied to hair to help control fly away strands and frizz. It's not flaky like gels either.

As a cuticle softener. Since it is a great moisturizer, it will work great to softener rough cuticles.

As a lip gloss alternative. After outlining your lips with lip pencil instead of using gloss that can actually dry out your lips, use Vaseline. Your lips will be shiny and miosturized.

As a furniture polisher. Instead of using expensive (and harmful) polishers, we use a dab of Vaseline on a cloth and rub onto the wood furniture in our home.

To prevent hair treatment "bleeding." To keep at home hair treatments such as coloring and perms, I apply it around my hairline to keep the chemicals from reaching my skin, making professional results and "no proof" of a beauty enhancement.

As a lubricant. For household fixes that requires a lubricant product trying rubbing a cotton swab with Vaseline to cure the squeaks.

For CD and DVD scratches. For those of us that still use CD's, those scratches cause unwanted interuptions in song playback. Use a cotton swab with Vaseline to fill in the scratches on discs. This works on DVD's as well.

As a tinted moisturizer. Just mix a dab of it with face powder and smooth over skin like lotion. You will have a moisturized face with a tint of color. This is great when you have forgotten your foundation at home and need a touch up.

As a makeup remover. When you have applied a lip/eye/cheek color that you don't like use a cloth with a dab of vaseline on it to loosen the pigments on your skin. Wash the area and apply the color you want.

As you can see there are a lot of ways to use Vaseline petroleum jelly. From household to haircare, there a way that Vaseline can help you not only solve a problem but save you money while doing it. You can see why I keep this product around at all times.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Vaseline blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

I love having deep conversations with my husband. Though they often come after an argument, they always are so beneficial in strengthening our relationship. Deep conversations often help us to re-establish where we are and where we want to go in our marriage. It also helps us to learn things about each other that we may have forgotten or overlooked over the time we've been together.

Check out this article about deep conversations vs. small talk from the NY Times here. Pretty interesting study on this topic.

Daily deep conversations sounds nice but I don't think that will work for us. My goal is to try to have a weekly deep conversation, just something to help us vent out the week and make sure we're both on the page. This should help us to start the following week off right. What will we talk about? Anything and everything. How will we start the conversations? I don't know. Whatever seems right at the time.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

A southern favorite, green tomatoes are my all time favorite snack and appetizer. I was so happy to see green tomatoes in the store last week! I never really checked to see when their in season, I just grab them when I see them. I once ordered these as an appetizer in a local restaraunt and paid a whopping $8 for one serving!! They were worth it but here's my low cost version of $1-$2 a serving (depends on its availability where you live.) This recipe serves 2.

One of the best things that we can do for our families is to have a health care plan. Even better than that is to have one that works for you - giving your loved ones the best quality coverage and premiums you can afford. With so many different health insurance options out there, it can be difficult to decide which ones will work the best for your family situation. Here are my five tips for making benefits planning simpler.

Compare the cost of premiums. Premiums are what your health care provider charges you for health insurance coverage. If your family situation has changed such as a birth, job change, or illness will you be able to afford the costs? Make sure the cost is reasonable for your family.

Compare the cost of their co-payments. Co-payments are the set amount of money which you must pay out of pocket in order to receive medical services with your health plan. Make sure this is an affordable amount that you should have available at any given time.

Check how their referrals work. Being referred to a specialist for certain medical conditions happens often. You want to be sure that you have options when having to see another doctor. Ask yourself, "Will you only be able to see certain doctors in the area." If you have a preferred doctor that is not on the list then you will have to pay out of pocket or opt for a different doctor.

Check into their other benefits. Some health insurance covers flu shots and other wellness items that help to prevent illness. Make sure to compare these benefits as well. The little things can make a big difference to the quality of your policy.

Check into their disease management options. Though it is not something that we would like to think about, it is an important concern that needs to be addressed in your coverage. In the even that someone is ill or even giving birth, these are extra services that are costly out of pocket. Compare what the providers will and will not pay for.

Using these tips, you will be able to plan for your health in under an hour! Just take a few minutes before you begin looking to think about what features are important to you in a health care policy. Then compare and choose that perfect health care plan for your family.

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Aetna blogging program, making me eligible to get a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Today's blog hop is hosted by Mom's Review 4 You at momsreview4you.blogspot.com. Click the button to go to today's linky. After you add your blog be sure to follow our host and at least 3 other blogs, leaving comments on each one.

Hello everyone! Just a little note to let you know about the great new music being released from MuseBox, the people who brought us The Rattles "Rattle On" CD. They have created a great list of songs from female artists and have made them available to us for free! I enjoyed the songs and I think you will too. Just click the download buttons for any songs you wish to download!

Give your dryer sheets an extra job in your home by re-using them as dust cloths. After using them in the dryer once (or twice depending on your frugalness) stash them in a bag until you need something dusted. Easy and cheap. Just be sure the cloths don't have anymore of the fabric softener in them since this can be harmful to certain surfaces. Spot check for any discolorations if possible.

Hello everyone! I hope you have been having a great fall so far. Now is the time to start thinking about your winter holiday cards. When my daughter was born, we made it a tradition to have a personalized photo card for the holidays. As a family on a budget, personalized Christmas cards are a cost effective way to give our family and friends a beautiful gift from our heart. I always save one card for our memory album so we can see how our family has grown over the years.

Our Holiday 2009 Card

The best place to find great personalized holiday cards is to shop around online. Last year I used Shutterfly, since my family was already impressed with the quality and price of my daughters birth announcements. It was hard to choose last year's card with all of the beautiful designs from Shutterfly but easy to personalize with photos and text. We selected this card because of the beautiful colors, religious theme and its extra spaces for several photos. This year I have a few favorites in mind Vintage Village, Snowy Berry Branch and Star Flowers Blue Holiday Card. I'm really loving these light blue and browns this year.

Now, we just have to take some great family photos and head over to Shutterfly.com tosee which of these designs fits best with them! If you are still looking for great cards for this holiday season, Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards. While you're there check out their great selection of Thanksgiving cards, Hanukkah cards, and Christmas address labels.

Freebies around town: 2 weeks ago I got some coupons in the mail for a free items:
panty from Victoria's secret, spray from Bath and Body works and a free McCafe Drink (not pictured because I couldn't resist long enough to take a picture.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Hello everyone! I just wanted to share with you a great find. Amazon.com is offering the ebook version of two recent book reviews for FREE - "I Quit" by Geri Scazzero and "Naomi and Her Daughters" by Walter Wangerin Jr.

For a refresher of "Naomi and Her Daughters" check out my review here and then head over to Amazon.com to get the free ebook version here. $0.00 will be in red and then click the "Buy Now with 1-click" button.

To view today's review of "I Quit" go here and then head over to Amazon to get the free ebook version here. Follow the same steps as above.

To read these, just download the free application program from Amazon here. Available devices are PC's, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry. Hope you enjoy!

This book takes the phrase "I Quit" from a negative connotation and transforms it into a phrase of empowerment. This book addresses the many issues that cause emotional, mental, and spiritual turmoil within ourselves and limits our personal growth. The authors provide powerful insight into these areas of our lives and shows how we can overcome them to become the person God intends for us to be.

While going into a restaurant, my husband said to me "With a wife like you (always having a coupon), I'll never pay full price." It's funny how my husband has come to the side of couponing. When we first met, we were still living with our parents and both working part time. We didn't have any bills so our paychecks were spent by the weekend. I always checked the Sunday paper for restaurant and retail store coupons. Eventually, we started going places we had coupons for instead of the other options. And by the time the baby came, we didn't go anywhere without one, including the grocery store.

So now whenever we are thinking about going out, he will ask "Do we have a coupon?" It's hilarious!! It's nice we've realized the value of money, but it was only AFTER we were out on our own. My goal is to have our daughter clipping coupons with her safety scissors as soon as she's able to use them!!

But really, we're striving to make sure we teach her better money lessons that what we had as kids. We're still learning, but hopefully we'll get there together.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Today's blog hop is hosted by Mom's Review 4 You at momsreview4you.blogspot.com. Click the button to go to today's linky. After you add your blog be sure to follow our host and at least 3 other blogs, leaving comments on each one.

Just a quick little tip about buying items at the store. Every item has a CPU or "cost per unit." This number should be listed somewhere on the shelf price label. This will help you to select between different sizes and brands to find the best buy for that product.

Their easy to navigate site has categories such as vintage t-shirts, movie t-shirts, and of course cheap t-shirts AND a daily deal for $6.99. Many of their shirts are discounted already making just about any shirt a deal. Of the men's shirt this one is my favorite. I had a blast showing this to my husband. I will be sharing this one with my married friends!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Happy Friday Everyone!
Welcome everyone to another week of the best freebies and deals available to us this week. This week includes samples, magazines, coupons and more.
ON TO THE FREEBIES!!SAMPLES AND MORE

Today between 1 and 2 pm CT, the first 1,000 entries at Freebies4Mom.com's special "Squiz cards" post will win a free set of cards (like mini business cards.) I won a set earilier this week and ordered play date cards. These will go fast!

Samples at P&G Brandsaver currently include Head&Shoulders, Always, Tampax and others here.

Hello everyone! This will be my daughter's second Halloween and we are celebrating it with Hershey's candy. We will be having a special trick or treat event with all of the other parents in our apartment complex. My family will be passing out candy for the other children since our daughter is still a little too young to go around to other apartments. Then afterward, we will be going to a Halloween party and celebrating with our neighbors. We are really looking forward to it. Last year's celebration was great!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you in on a great collection of sites owned by CSN Stores. If you are not familiar with them, this company offers an amazing selection of items. They have so many items available and in every price range which makes the a favorite among the online community.

Deals are in every category from barstools and other home furniture selections, to babies & kids products and decor. With over 200 plus shopping sites, they have products in every category.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, you should definitely go check out this store and see what ideas you can find for family and friends (and maybe create a wishlist for yourself too.) Be sure to come back and share what deals you find!

As soon as I found out that I was going to be a mommy, I ran out and bought some parenting books. They were a great help to me, but my husband will disagree. I believe in getting advice from others, while he believes in maternal/paternal instincts. His point of view is that parenting books are "telling you how to raise your baby." He feels that since people have been having children forever without reading all of those books that they are pointless. I feel that since people have been having children forever, I need as many tips as possible. While, I'm no where near the mother in the old Nickelodeon kids show "Rugrats" always referring to the advice as etched in stone, I do believe that advice doesn't hurt.

Needless to say this is an ongoing discussion. I haven't purchased any new books lately, but I have been sneaking a few online articles here and there! It couldn't hurt...

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Hello everyone! I made this quick meal in less than 15 minutes! If you're not familiar with Tilapia it is a great light fish that is easy to flavor and is a favorite in our home. It's price is very affordable with a big bag costing less than $8 on sale at our store. These normally last us at least 2 nights worth of dinner.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Today's blog hop is hosted by Mom's Review 4 You at momsreview4you.blogspot.com. Click the button to go to today's linky. After you add your blog be sure to follow our host and at least 3 other blogs, leaving comments on each one.